This morning, the AP headline and story I saw in a list at Yahoo read,

Retailers report September sales declines
AP – Early September reports from retailers show weak sales as shoppers cut back on fall clothing purchases amid worries about jobs and tight credit.

A few hours later, the same story has been revised and now reads,

Retailers see sales begin to recover in September
NEW YORK – The nation’s stores saw their first sales gain in 14 months in September, a sign of life from shoppers that fuels some hope for the holiday shopping season. ….analysts dissecting the figures say they feel encouraged by Thursday’s reports even as they acknowledge that business still remains weak and consumers tight-fisted.

It’s at the very same link too, so the original story is effectively gone. I’d love to compare the details, but I can’t find anyone who cached the story.

Interesting that the story has been revised to a more positive slant, though, considering the headlines from other news services today:

• Earnings reports show struggling Americans
  People aren’t just shopping more at Family Dollar. They’re buying the cheapest stuff on its racks. Even Pizza Hut’s sales are slowing as consumers seek fast-food bargains. (MSNBC)
• Retail sales weak, but stores post first gain since July ’08
  (USA TODAY) — they use the same AP story as Yahoo, but use a more conservative headline.
• Jobless Claims Fall; Retail Traffic Remains Weak
  New claims for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level since the start of the year, but retail sales in September were down from 2008, indicating that consumers are reluctant to spend the economy out of recession. It was the fourth drop in new claims in five weeks. But most analysts think the unemployment rate will keep rising well into next year, fueling a “jobless recovery” in which GDP grows slowly but new hiring lags. (NPR)
• Survey Shows Rocky Road to Economic Recovery
  The worst recession since the Great Depression has left a scorched landscape that will weigh on the labor market and the broader economy for years to come, according to economists in the latest Wall Street Journal forecasting survey. ….the massive downturn has left an open wound in the labor market that will take years to heal. On average, the economists don’t expect unemployment to fall under 6% until 2013; unemployment in September hit 9.8% (Wall Street Journal)

I guess AP didn’t entirely ignore the other half of the story. Buried halfway through the article, they finally touch on the not-so-positive things:

The fourth drop in new claims in five weeks reflects an improving labor market, but employers are still hesitant to hire new workers and the unemployment rate is expected to keep climbing well into next year.

Credit also remains tight. A report released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve, shows that consumers reduced their borrowing for the seventh straight month in August as households cut spending and banks reduced credit card limits.

“Consumers remain under pressure on multiple fronts,” said Ken Perkins, president of retail research firm Retail Metrics. “I don’t think consumer spending is going to see a substantial uptick. Shoppers are concerned about rebuilding their balance sheets.”

In this climate, purveyors of fashion and nondiscretionary items continue to post sluggish sales, while low-price stores benefit from shoppers switching to cheaper stores and brands.

By the way, did you know Wal-Mart stopped reporting monthly figures? According to that AP story, “The tally [of retail sales this month] excludes Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which stopped reporting monthly sales after it released April results.” Hmmm…

The dig is scheduled to run only 2 more days. I’m looking forward to the full program about the dig planned for release in the fall. I’ll have to keep my eyes open and see if it lands on Discovery, History, WHRO or another channel.

Three horses wandered onto Interstate 64 this morning and caused a nagging backup at the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. ….

Alert motorists spotted the horses about 5:45 a.m. and started to slow down or stop, Robinson said. About the same time, employees in the tunnel’s control room also saw the animals and decided to stop traffic.

Virginia State Police troopers rounded up the horses, which were taken to a garage at the tunnel until animal control officers could arrive, Robinson said. ….

The horses belong to Hampton University and officials there released a statement this afternoon saying they are investigating how the horses got out of a corral on a farm owned by the school.

Full article at PilotOnline >>

Some of the comments:

horses sighted by eagle-eyed commuters
The story reads that “alert motorists” reported horses walking down the Interstate. Lord, please save us from those muddled motorists that weren’t alert enough to see horses on the highway!!

How about this one?
Horsing Around Causes Tunnel Backup

Hampton Horses protest new taxes, Stop traffic at HRBT.
Happening headlines for you.

However
Wild horses couldn’t keep me away from work this morning!

ESCAPED EQUINES EXASERBATE EXPRESSWAY

STATE POLICE HOOF IT TO THE HRBT

Hold Your Horses – Commuters in need of lasso!

Any additions, Dad? Mom?

The news isn’t all good: Overweight people do have a higher chance of dying from diabetes and kidney disease.

However, having a little extra weight actually seemed to help people survive some illnesses — results that baffled several leading health researchers.

Obesity researcher Barry Popkin of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill notes that the study “is about death. This is not about health and sickness.”

It doesn’t address whether cancer and heart disease occur more often in overweight people — something that has been suggested by other research.